Area Code 352 – Datong, Shanxi

Overview of Area Code +86 352

The telephone country code +86 is assigned to the People's Republic of China under the ITU-T E.164 international numbering plan. Within this framework, the national destination code (NDC) 352 is a geographic area code allocated to the city of Datong (大同), located in the northern part of Shanxi Province. This code is used for fixed-line (PSTN) services within Datong's administrative jurisdiction, which includes the urban districts of Pingcheng, Yungang, Xinrong, and the surrounding counties and county-level cities under Datong's governance.

Geographic Coverage and Administrative Scope

Datong is a prefecture-level city in Shanxi, bordering Inner Mongolia to the north. The area code 352 covers the entire prefecture, including the downtown area and outlying regions such as Zuoyun County, Yanggao County, Tianzhen County, Guangling County, Lingqiu County, Hunyuan County, and the county-level city of Huairen. It is important to note that this code is exclusive to Datong; neighboring regions use different area codes (e.g., Taiyuan uses 351, Xinzhou uses 350, Shuozhou uses 349).

Dialing Formats and Procedures

For local callers within Datong, the area code is omitted, and only the 7-digit subscriber number is dialed. For example, to call a fixed line in Datong from within the city, one would dial 2XXXXXX (where X represents the subscriber digits). However, for callers from other cities in China (including mobile phone users), the full national trunk prefix 0 must be dialed before the area code: 0352 followed by the 7-digit number. For instance, a call from Beijing to a Datong landline would be dialed as 0352 2XXXXXX.

For international callers, the format is +86 352 2XXXXXX (or 011 86 352 2XXXXXX when dialing from North America). The leading '0' of the national trunk prefix is omitted when dialing from abroad. It is essential to replace the '+' with the appropriate international access code from your country (e.g., 00 in most European countries, 011 in the US/Canada).

Numbering and Overlay Considerations

Fixed-line numbers in Datong are generally 7 digits long, with the first digit often indicating a specific central office or district. As of now, there is no overlay code for Datong; the 352 code remains the sole geographic code for the region. However, with the growth of telecommunications, the local operator (China Telecom, China Unicom, or China Mobile for fixed-line services) may allocate new number ranges within the same code.

Caller Instructions

For local callers: simply dial the 7-digit number. For domestic long-distance callers: dial 0, then 352, then the 7-digit number. For international callers: dial your country's exit code, then 86, then 352, then the 7-digit number. Note that mobile numbers in China are not prefixed by area codes; they have their own 11-digit format starting with 1. Therefore, when calling a Chinese mobile phone from abroad, you would dial +86 followed by the 11-digit mobile number, omitting the area code entirely.